Sword Art Online: Fallen Angels

Chapter One: The Promise

A/N:

Okay, here's another new story for you! This one is kind of like The Shadow of the Starless Night in terms of game mechanics, meaning that you can use literally and weapon build, and they all have skills attached. At the same time, there are no stat modifiers to any of the builds (for example, Dual-Wielding will no longer have an attack speed bonus), nor are there any extra skills involving weapons, since you can already use any weapon choice anyway.

Also, this story is kinda old, so please forgive any crappiness in the first 4k words. It was a little too much to rewrite all of it, so I just continued from where I left off.

Well, that's enough out of me!

Have a good read, and I'll see ya at the bottom!

"Wow, the beta is almost over, isn't it?"

"Yeah… just a few more days…"

"Hey, let's preorder copies with our beta privileges and meet again!"

I looked at the boy before me, eyes widened in shock. Did he really want to meet up with me again? I was just another online friend, so why should he care? Even worse, I had a horrible personality! I was a total ass! Why did he want to be around me?

"C'mon, it'll be fun!"

He must have taken my self-doubting for reluctance. I have to correct him. "Y-yeah, of course!" I shouted, sounding like a nervous wreck. "I'd love to!"

He looked down, donning a sad expression. "You know, you don't have to force yourself," he whispered.

"N-no, you've got it wrong!" I fervently denied, waving my hands from side to side frantically. "That's not it! It's just… why do you want to see me again? I'm just a person you met online…"

"Isn't it obvious?" he replied, giving me a small smile. "It's because you're my friend! Maybe even my best friend!"

My eyes widened once more, and tears started to gather in the corners of my eyes. "Thanks, Kirito…"

"No problem, Yamiko," Kirito responded cheerily. "So, what do you say? Want to meet up in the official game?"

"Yeah!"

I awoke to the sound of a phone ringing right next to my ear. I groggily pulled my left arm up to my face, finding and pressing a button on my special watch. It instantly sent a signal to my ear buds, which had been plugged into said watch. The signal transformed into a string of syllables, informing me of the time.

7:30 AM

Who the hell could be calling me this early? I thought, putting my head back down. Oh well, I'll just ignore it until it stops ringing. Then I can get back to sleep.

However, just a few seconds after the phone stopped ringing, it started up again. I waited it out once more, and lo and behold, it started to ring again a few seconds later. At this point, I knew exactly who it was. This person would never stop until she got an answer.

I fumbled around for my phone, not even bothering to open my eyes to look.

After all, what's the point of opening your eyes to look for something if you can't see?

Yes, I was blind. Yes, I had a watch with a headphone or ear bud jack. But no, none of that stopped me from having fun. After all, who needs to see in the real world when you can see in the virtual world?

Yes, that's right. The «Nerve Gear», invented by the super genius known as Kayaba Akihiko, had the ability to go past my blindness and tap into my mind's eye. I discovered this when I won a drawing by mistake a few months ago. One that got me the «Nerve Gear», but not just that. There was one other thing that I got out of the drawing.

A beta copy of the highly-anticipated first ever Virtual Reality MMORPG, or VRMMO for short.

«Sword Art Online».

At first, I was skeptical. There was no way a simple helmet could let me see things, even if they were virtual, right? It just wasn't possible, I remember thinking to myself. However, with a lot of convincing from my brother and parents, I put it on my head, loaded the beta copy of SAO, and…

I was hooked.

I couldn't believe it. I could actually see when I was inside the game! Thus, I started playing it all the time. I played it whenever I got the chance, and since I was homeschooled, combined with my being a very quick learner, I had a lot of chances.

I played solo for the first couple of weeks, choosing never to join a party with anyone, no matter how hard the quest or mini-boss raid. Needless to say, I died at least a hundred times during the first week, since all I did was fight, fight, and fight some more. After all, fighting with your body and being able to see was an incredibly addicting thing to do for someone who had been blind all her life.

Due to the amazing amount of weapon combinations a player could choose, I experimented for quite a while. Of course, because I happened to be ambidextrous, I settled on the incredibly hard-to-master two sword style, also known as «Dual-Wielding». I never could understand why it was so hard for other players to master, as it just came naturally for me. But I digress.

After the first month had gone by, I decided to focus on floor-clearing like the majority of the thousand beta players. Due to my talent in my build, combined with my knowledge of the game's mechanics, I quickly became one of the lead players. At one point, I even had the highest level, putting me at level thirty. Of course, all good things must come to an end. One day, as I was grinding on the sixth floor, I decided to check the player rankings by level. What I found shocked me to my very core.

There was someone a level above me. His name?

Kirito.

And so, I resolved to find this 'Kirito' person, determined to test his strength. Of course, I didn't neglect to grind on my way, just so that I could be of an even or higher level when I met them. I eventually found the player known as 'Kirito', and so I did what was natural. I challenged him to a duel.

When he accepted, I was surprised to find that he, like myself, used two one-handed longswords. I thought that there were no players amongst the clearers that used that weapon combo. This led to me underestimating his skill, which ultimately led to me getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter.

This boy completely outclassed me in skill and power, despite me having one level on him at the time. In the duel, he looked so calm, as if he had been using the two sword style for years. He seemed to predict all of my attacks perfectly, before I even knew how I was going to attack. It was like he had a countermeasure for everything I did. It aggravated me to no end, and so I challenged him again. The results?

Another loss.

After the second loss, he walked up to me, then told me that I fought amazingly well. He offered to help me get better, and I begrudgingly accepted. In retrospect, his offer was probably just a roundabout way of him asking to be my friend.

So, we trained on the front lines, always in a party together. Through the whole ordeal, we became very close, even to the point of sleeping in the same bed until sleep logged us both out. But of course, as I said before…

All good things come to an end.

With only a week left in the beta, we both grew sad knowing that we wouldn't see each other anymore. We resolved to get to the eighth floor before the beta ended, and decided to face the seventh floor boss together, just the two of us, as a reminder of our unbreakable friendship. Needless to say, we succeeded.

After making it to the eighth floor, there were only three days left before the beta would close. We walked on, hearts heavy, until Kirito stumbled upon an idea.

"Hey, let's preorder copies with our beta privileges and meet again!"

Up until that point, I hadn't even known that beta-testers had that privilege. Of course, I was reluctant. Still, he won me over very quickly, and so we promised to meet again in the official launch.

Now, where was I? Oh, right.

After a few seconds of feeling around, I finally found my phone just as it was about to fall off the bed.

That was close! I thought, sighing in relief as I opened my flip-phone.

"What's up, Suguha?" I drawled into my phone. "Why are you calling me this early?"

"Well, I was hoping I could come over to your place after kendo practice. As for why I called so early, I figured you'd be in the virtual world by the time I was done with practice."

Suguha said that last part with some degree of irritation, and I perfectly understood the reason why.

That brother of hers… he completely ignored her for the sake of gaming. At least I have half a reason for playing these games!

I replied with, "Sure thing. Come by around seven o'clock and I'll be out of SAO, okay? I just have to try to meet someone in there."

"Really? Who?" was her immediate response. "Is it a boy?"

Oh, god… not again!

"Just a friend from the beta test. But before you say anything," I warned, "I do not like him like that."

"Oh, okay," she replied, and I could sense the disappointment in her tone. "Well, I'll see ya at seven!"

Without even giving me a chance to reply, she hung up.

Several hours later, after I finished my daily lessons, I checked the time with my special watch.

12:50

"Excuse me, ma'am?" I asked my tutor as she started to walk away. "Could you—"

"You don't even need to ask," my tutor said in a warm voice. "SAO's official launch date is today, right? You only have about ten minutes, so why don't we get you to your room and get you ready."

"Thank you, ma'am," I replied, smiling a small smile.

"No problem!"

Five minutes later, we had successfully maneuvered my family's large estate and found my room. My tutor began loading the official SAO software onto the «Nerve Gear», and I sat down on the bed. I then laid down, getting under the covers for warmth. Soon enough, I heard the sound of the «Nerve Gear» finishing up loading the SAO software.

My tutor slid the «Nerve Gear» onto my head, and then she said, "You've got about a minute left. Do you want me to count down?"

"Sure. Thank you for all the help, ma'am."

"All right. And…" she started, waiting for a moment before continuing. "Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven…"

This is it… I'm finally going to meet him again…

"Thirty-one, thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven…"

I smiled at the prospect of meeting my best friend again for the first time in months.

I hope you can wait for me, Kirito…

"Three, two, one—"

I immediately cut her off with the words I had been dying to say for so long.

"Link start!"

Suddenly, my vision turned white, a stark contrast with the black void I always saw in the real world. Lines of all colors streaked across my field of vision until they were all behind me. Then, circles with the English words for the five senses came up into my field of vision one by one, confirming that I could use the senses in the game. The sight icon lingered for a little while, having to dig just a little deeper to find my true sense of sight. Once they were all finished confirming, they scrolled off the screen, and a language bar appeared.

I confirmed the play language as Japanese, and a login screen appeared. I mentally entered my username and password.

Character Creation

Your beta test data is still available.

Would you like to use it?

Yamiko (F)

Yes/No

I mentally touched the yes button, and then then a gray screen appeared with the English words, "Welcome to Sword Art Online!" in the middle. My vision moved past this screen, and pillars of blue light that formed a tunnel made their way past my field of vision. Then, the blue light turned into polygons that scattered, revealing the "sky" of the first floor.

I looked down, finding myself in the «Plaza» of the first city in the game, the «Town of Beginnings».

I clenched my hands into fists, watching the muscles in my wrist tense.

Yeah… I'm here…

"I'm back!" I whispered gleefully. "Now, let's go to our meeting place!"

I ran through the streets, going past all of the people with frightful speed. I couldn't wait to meet up with Kirito once more, to fight alongside him again, just the two of us. Of course, when I actually arrived at our designated meeting place, all of my visions were shattered.

There in the alley stood Kirito, talking to some tall, red-headed teen.

What the hell was I expecting…? I thought, mentally beating on myself. I was just another online friend. He can easily replace me with another friend.

Despite my sorrow, I found myself instinctually walking up to the pair. Kirito was the first to notice me, and as soon as he did, he gave me a look that asked me, 'what's wrong?' I quickly realized my mistake, then corrected it by putting on a smile.

The other teen turned around to face me. He seemed to be scared of me, but maybe that was just my imagination. When I reached them, I looked up at the sky, smiling wistfully. "Amazing, isn't it? You know, the way they can recreate everything perfectly like this. Right down to the texture of all the items."

"Whoa, since when did you turn into the philosophical type?" Kirito asked me, his avatar donning a smirk.

"S-shut up, man!" I retorted before looking at the red-headed teen. "Anyway, don't mind his crazy comments. What's your name?"

The teen stayed silent for a second, as if he was lagging. Then, all of the sudden—

"H-hello! My name is Klein! I'm single, what about— OOF!"

I barely had time to register what this Klein person had said before Kirito moved in front of me and… punched him in the gut.

"Kirito, what the hell?!" I shouted. "What did you do that for?"

"S-sorry…" Kirito said sheepishly. "Instinct."

I walked around Kirito, helping Klein up. "Sorry about him," I said, flashing an apologetic smile. "He gets a little overprotective sometimes."

"I do not!" Kirito denied, shaking his head feverishly.

"Then how do you explain what you just did?" I said, smirking like a madman.

He stayed silent, hanging his head in defeat. I put my right hand on his shoulder, my smirk fading. "Don't worry, I was just messing around."

He looked into my eyes, and I looked into his. We shared a meaningful glance, but before either of us could say anything, I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"So wait, are you two siblings or something?" Klein asked us, scratching his cheek.

"Nah, we're just good friends from a while back who promised to meet up with each other here. I could see how you would think we are, though," I said, giggling lightly afterwards.

"Oh, I see," Klein responded, giving us a knowing smile. "I think I see what's going on here… you two are a—"

Before he could continue, I quickly interjected with, "Don't say it!"

This time, Kirito was the one to clear his throat. "Anyway, what were you saying earlier, Klein?"

"Oh yeah!" Klein said, looking as if he recalled something really important. "Do you think you guys could show me the ropes? After all, I can tell that both of you were beta-testers."

I grit my teeth at being called a 'guy', but didn't say anything. Kirito accepted, and off we went.

«West Field»

"AAH!"

Klein yelled out a cry of pain as the «Frenzy Boar» attacked him, sending him flying back onto his posterior.

I giggled briefly, then said, "Congratulations! You were defeated by a pig."

"Hey, screw you! That's like the pig from hell!" Klein shouted, eliciting another giggle from me.

"Could you at least try to be constructive?" Kirito asked me, though I could sense his amusement.

"Nope."

Kirito gave me a hard look, and after a good five seconds, I caved. "All right, Klein. Let's teach you some basics."

Klein got up, nodding and waiting for me to continue. It didn't take long for me to do what he wanted, and so I found myself saying, "First off, the most important asset to fighting is your initial motion input."

"Initial… motion input?" he repeated, making me sigh.

"That's how you activate «Sword Skills»," I explained.

"Sure, I get that, but it keeps moving around!" Klein said.

"Allow me to take it from here," Kirito said, picking up a pebble from the ground at his feet. He put it behind his head in a throwing position, and it began to glow a bright red. "Like Yamiko was saying, if you start out with the right initial motion input, you can activate a «Sword Skill». And when you do that—"

Kirito launched the pebble, making sure to throw it in a slightly different direction than the «Frenzy Boar» to prove his point. The pebble flew through the air with alarming speed, its trajectory curving mid-throw until it was on a collision course with the boar's posterior. Its HP barely went down as it was hit, but it was enough to get the point across.

"The skill will pretty much guarantee that you hit your target," Kirito finished, giving Klein a smile. "Now, you try!"

Klein nodded, then turned to face the boar once more. "Initial motion input…"

He put his one-handed curved sword above his shoulder, readying a dash-type «Sword Skill» known as «Reaver». His sword started to glow with a bright orange light. Eventually, when it stopped getting brighter, I heard Kirito say, "Now!"

Klein released the skill, and it sent him flying towards the «Frenzy Boar» at an insanely high speed. The sword made contact with the boar's side as he sailed past it, and after a moment, Klein appeared behind it. A few seconds later, the boar exploded into white polygons, and they scattered into the air until they started to shrink, and finally, disappear altogether.

After a second of silence, Klein shouted out, "ALL RIGHT!"

I walked up to Klein, putting my hand in the air. He met it in a high five, giving me a thumbs up with his other hand. I flashed a smile, then said, "Congrats on your first kill, man. But sadly, that boar is about as strong as slimes in other games."

"What?!" Klein shouted in disbelief. "No freaking way! That had to be a mini-boss!"

I stifled a laugh, putting my hand up to my mouth. Kirito just sighed, walking up to us. "Of course not. Look over there." Kirito pointed to a hill about ten meters away, and when we looked, we saw a «Frenzy Boar» spawning, with another already there.

I looked back over at Kirito, locking eyes with him for a moment. Just when he looked as if he was about to say something, I heard the sound of a «Sword Skill» being unleashed. I turned to find Klein using a skill, an immersed look on his face.

As if in sync, both Kirito and I said, "Addictive, isn't it?"

Klein looked at us, then said. "Yeah, definitely!" After a few more seconds, he donned a smirk. "But seriously, are to two really not a c—"

"We're not!" I interrupted him, anger radiating off of me.

Why does everyone think that about us! Even in the beta, it was always the same!

"Okay, then…" Klein said, scratching his cheek. "Never bringing up your relationship status again…"

Kirito chose that moment to interrupt our already-dying conversation. "So, why don't we go and hunt some more mobs?"

Klein agreed, and we left the «West Fields» for a better hunting spot.

«West Edge»

Around five o'clock, the three of us were just sitting on a hill, watching the simulated sunset. I looked at it with awe, as I always did when I saw it. After all, I couldn't see anything in the real world.

I almost wish that I could live here, in the virtual world.

"No matter how much I look at all of this, I can't believe it's just a game," Klein said wistfully, looking at the sunset with a smile. "The creator is a total genius! Sure makes me glad I was born in this time."

"You make such a big deal out of everything," Kirito said, looking at him with a smug smile.

Before Klein could retort, I interrupted him with, "I, for one, am with Klein on this one. I feel even more alive here than I ever did in the real world. Every time I used the «Full Dive» technology, I was enthralled all over again. With today being the first time in months that I've used it, I feel ten times more amazed at the wonders of SAO than before, even in the beta."

"Wow, you're really into this, huh?" Klein asked me.

I smiled at him. "Well, yeah. After all, in this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go. Or in mine and Kirito's case, two blades."

"Yeah, that's right!" Klein said, looking at the two blades sheathed behind my back. "You guys both use two swords! Isn't that hard to do?"

Kirito stayed silent, seemingly upset about something. I looked at him with a concerned face for a second, then turned to face Klein once more. "Not really. Both Kirito and I are ambidextrous, so the style comes naturally to us," I said, waving my hand dismissively. "Though I'll admit, Kirito is a thousand times better than I am with it."

Klein turned to Kirito with a look of awe, causing the poor teen to rub the back of his head sheepishly.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Klein shouted enthusiastically. "Just out of curiosity, though, how far did all the testers make it before the beta ended?"

Kirito was the one to respond this time. He turned to Klein, saying, "During the two months of testing, the best of us made it to floor eight. But this time…" Kirito clenched his right hand into a fist. "I can guarantee you that it'll only take a month."

"Man, you two are really hardcore gamers, aren't you?" Klein asked us, closing his eyes and smiling.

"To be honest, during the beta test period, SAO was all I could think about, day and night," Kirito said, looking at me for some reason. "Actually, about three weeks in, I decided to look at the player rankings. When I did, I found a certain someone at the top of the list.

"I wanted to meet this person, so I started putting the skills I had from the real world into practice. I leveled constantly, focusing on nothing else, just to try to get the best player to acknowledge me. Of course, when this player confronted me and asked for a duel, I was a little more than shocked.

"And so we dueled. I was easily more skilled than the player, so I beat them within thirty seconds. What really surprised me was when they asked for a rematch. I fought them again, and even though I still won, it was a lot harder.

"After I won, I offered to help train this player. With a bit of convincing, I got them to let me help. Truth be told, that wasn't why I offered to help them. I just wanted to befriend them.

"Eventually, it got to the point where the main reason I logged in to SAO was to see this player again. They were my best friend, both in the virtual world and out. And of course…" Kirito looked at me, giving me a wide smile. "That player is Yamiko."

Klein, who had been listening with awe at Kirito's heartfelt statement, suddenly adopted a mischievous smirk. "Oh, I see what this is…"

He can't be serious… Kirito must have a lot more friends than just me.

"Anyway, what do you say we go hunt some more?" I said, laughing nervously.

"Hell yeah!" Klein shouted. "But… I'm starving."

I giggled, watching him grab his stomach. Kirito closed his eyes, smirking, then said, "Well, can't help you there. Eating food in this world only makes you think you're not hungry on the other side."

Klein looked at us, giving a goofy smile and a thumbs up. "There's no way I could come this far and just eat leftovers in the fridge! No, I ordered a pizza and two-liter of soda to come at five-thirty PM!"

I giggled once more at Klein's quirky happiness. "You're certainly well-prepared!"

"Totally!" Klein shouted.

Wait a second… I almost forgot! I have to log out and to meet up with Suguha!

"I almost forgot," I said, getting up with Klein. "I have to log out, too."

"All right, then," Kirito said, looking down. "Why don't the three of us meet back up later tonight?"

"Well, I'm meeting up with some friends from another game," Klein said. "But if you guys want, I could introduce you. You can friend them, too!"

Kirito looked down, and so did I. Neither of us were used to being in larger parties, since it had been just the two of us for most of the beta. Before that, we were both solo players, so we wouldn't be comfortable in a large party.

Sensing our discomfort, Klein quickly said, "Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to. I'll just introduce you some other time."

"Yeah, sorry," Kirito said softly.

I continued. "Thanks."

"Hey, don't you go thanking me!" Klein said cheerfully. "I should be the one thanking you guys! You're both amazing! I promise I'll repay you both… someday."

He then walked backwards, presumably to log out. "Seriously, though. Thanks so much, guys. I'll see you two around."

I smiled warmly, putting out my hand. "If you ever have any questions, just message one of us. We'll be happy to help you out."

Kirito nodded in agreement, and Klein said took my hand, shaking it. "Will do!"

He let go, then opened up his menu, making the motions to log out. I did the same, but right before I got to the log out menu, I heard Klein say something that made my blood run cold.

"Hey guys, total newb question, but is there another way to log out? The regular button is just blank, and when I touch it, nothing happens."

Sure enough, when I looked at my logout menu, the button was blank.

Kirito looked at him quizzically. "You sure? It should be at the bottom of the main menu."

"No, he's right," I confirmed. "I'm seeing the same thing. I'll contact a GM and see what's up."

"Good idea," Kirito said as he went into his own menu.

"Well, it is the first day out of the beta, so there are bound to be some bugs. Man, the server people must be freaking out right about now!" Klein said smugly.

"You will, too," I said. "It's five twenty-five PM. Wasn't your pizza set to arrive at five-thirty?"

Klein stood in silence for all of three seconds. Of course, this didn't last long, and he immediately transitioned into yelling, "My teriyaki mayo pizza and ginger ale!"

Ignoring Klein's outburst, Kirito turned to me. "Any response from a GM?"

I hadn't heard a word from a GM since I called.

"No…" I stated, a dark look appearing on my face. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

"No big deal, I'll just pull the «Nerve Gear» off!" Klein said, clearly so desperate that he couldn't think straight.

Before he could try, I interrupted. "Don't bother. The «Nerve Gear» intercepts all the signals that your brain sends to your body so that you don't move around while you play."

"Then we have no choice… but to wait for someone to fix the bug?" Klein queried, his voice almost in hysterics.

I don't think it's a bug… something's wrong here.

"Or for someone in the real world to take it off," Kirito said.

"But I live alone…" Klein said. "What am I going to do?!"

"Calm down, Klein," I said. "Kirito, do you have any family? I'll be alone in my house until about eight."

"Yeah, I've got a mom and a sister," Kirito said, looking down with a bitter expression. "But they don't really care. Still, I guess they'll find me around seven."

Klein ran up to Kirito, putting his hands on the boy's shoulders. "How old is your sister?"

Kirito looked taken aback. He stuttered a bit before regaining his composure. "Dude, she's into kendo, and she hates games. She's nothing like us!"

Klein obviously didn't take the hint. "Who cares— oof!"

Kirito had no intention of letting Klein finish, clearly shown by his fist as it hit the redhead where it counts.

Into kendo? Hates games? That sounds an awful lot like…

"Are you two done messing around?" I asked them dryly. "Seriously, don't you find this the least bit weird?"

Klein looked at me quizzically, and Kirito looked at me with an expression that said he had already figured it out. Klein then said, "Well, duh. It's a bug, how could it not be—"

"That's not it," Kirito said, cutting Klein off calmly. "Don't you get it? Even if they fixed the bug, the fact that it happened in the first place will cause serious problems for the game's future. That, and…"

"They could just shut down the servers," I continued for him. "That would log everyone out. But they're not doing that, so there must be something worse than a normal bug going on here…"

Just after I finished talking, we all heard a bell sounding off in the distance. It continued on for a little while, and then, I realized exactly what it meant.

"Wait, that's the bell in the «Plaza» at the «Town of Beginnings»!" I shouted, catching both Klein and Kirito by surprise. "But that only sounds when—"

I was cut off by a blue light surrounding me. When I looked to Klein and Kirito, I found that they, too, were being engulfed by the blue light. A forced teleport? I asked myself, even though I already knew it was the case.

When the blue light subsided, I found myself back in the «Plaza» of the «Town of Beginnings», near the center. I looked around, finding Klein and Kirito standing on either side of me, along with several other players. Even more continued to appear in flashes of blue light, and when it seemed as if every player had arrived…

"Hey, up there!" a player close by shouted, pointing to the sky just in front of the virtual sunset. Where he pointed, a red hexagon flashed in the sky. I squinted to see what it said, and when I saw, my blood ran cold.

«WARNING»

No way…

Then, another hexagon appeared on top of the original, this one saying «System Announcement». Then another below the original, then one to the left, then one to the right, until the entire sky was filled with red hexagons, all saying «WARNING» or «System Announcement».

What the hell is going on?!

Just as I thought it couldn't get any weirder, red liquid began oozing from in between the hexagons in the sky. When the liquid reached about ten meters from the ground, it stopped falling, piling up onto itself as even more of it seeped through the cracks. Blue electricity began to pulsate around the forming liquid.

"What the hell?" Klein whispered from my right. I looked over to him for only a second, but when I looked back up at the sky…

An illustrious, crimson cloak floated in the air, with no body inside it to speak of. It had white gloves in its sleeves, which looked as if there were invisible hands inside of them.

"Is that a GM?"

"Why doesn't it have a face?"

"What's going on? Is this an event?"

These were but a few of the things I heard all around us. However, they left no impact compared to what was said next.

The robe started to speak in a very deep voice that resounded through the entire area. "Attention, players… I welcome you… to my world."

What?!

"My… world?" Kirito repeated from his spot next to me.

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the sole person with control over this world."

Kayaba Akihiko?! But he's… the creator of the game! He never came out and made announcements in the beta! Something's wrong!

As soon as I finished my thought, the robe continued. "I assume that most of you have already noticed the missing button from the menu. The logout button."

As if the illustrate his point, he opened his own menu, even though we couldn't see it. He continued with, "However, I can assure you this. This is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. The inability to log out…

"Is a feature of Sword Art Online."

"A-a feature?" Klein whispered in shock.

No… this can't be happening!

"You will not be able to log out on your own, and no one on the outside will be able to shut down or remove the «Nerve Gear». Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the «Nerve Gear» will emit a powerful blast of microwave radiation, destroying your brain…

"And ending your life."

Klein looked over at me with a disbelieving expression. "He can't be serious. There's no way it could—"

"He's right," Kirito said ominously. "The «Nerve Gear's» transmitters work just like a microwave. If the safety were disabled…"

When he stopped, I finished for him. "It could fry your brain. He's not lying, I can tell."

Klein stepped back a little, too shocked to speak. And so, I continued to explain. "And we couldn't cut the power, either. The «Nerve Gear» has an internal battery. It's supposed to last for three days of playtime."

Kirito chose that time to speak up. "But why…?"

"Unfortunately, the friends and family members of several players have disregarded this warning. They have attempted to remove the «Nerve Gear», and have faced the consequences of their actions."

No… he can't mean that—

"As a result of their foolish acts, two-hundred and thirteen players have been permanently removed from «Aincrad»… and the real world."

No, no, no! This can't be happening!

"Two-hundred and thirteen players?" Kirito repeated, his avatar's eyes as wide as saucers.

"I don't believe it!" Klein shouted. "There's no way this could be real!"

Several windows opened up around him, displaying various news stations reporting the incident. "As you can see, news organizations around the world are reporting what has happened here. Thus, you can safely assume that the danger of your «Nerve Gear» being removed is minimal at best. I hope this will console you as you work hard to clear the game."

He's insane! He wants us to clear all one-hundred floors?! We'd waste away before that could ever happen!

"However, do take note of this," the robe said calmly. "There is no longer any method of respawning in the game. Once your HP reaches zero, your avatar will be permanently deleted. And of course, at the same time…

"The «Nerve Gear» will destroy your brain."

No… this can't be happening! I must have died a hundred times during the first week of the beta alone!

I looked to Kirito and Klein, both of which looked too shocked to even talk. When I looked back to the robe, it began speaking once more.

"There is but one thing for you to do, should you wish to be free. You must clear the game.

"You are all currently on the first floor, «Aincrad's» lowest level. Make your way through the dungeon and defeat the floor boss, and you will advance to the next level. If you defeat the final boss on the one-hundredth floor, you will clear the game."

"Clear all one-hundred floors?!" Klein shouted, looking up at the robe with unbridled rage. "That's freaking impossible! Even the beta-testers never made it near that high!"

"I have removed the pain-absorber," it said, causing my blood to run cold. "So that you will be more aware of when you are hit."

That bastard! He wants us to feel real pain in a freaking video game?!

"And lastly, there is a gift from me in your item storage. Please feel free to open it."

Against my better judgment, I found myself following the crowd, going into my menu and looking in my inventory. What I saw made zero sense.

«Hand Mirror»

"Why would he put a mirror in here?" I whispered, tapping the «turn into object» button to make the mirror appear.

As soon as it appeared into my hands, I looked into it, seeing my avatar's reflection. After three seconds of staring, a blue light began to engulf my entire body. I looked over at Klein and Kirito, finding that they, too, had been enveloped in the same blue light.

When the light subsided, I looked into the mirror once more. What I saw scared me to the core.

Waist-length, lustrous hair as white as snow. A curvy figure that most girls would die to have. Heterochromatic eyes; one gray, and one violet.

I was looking at my real body, all one-hundred and fifty-five centimeters of it.

"You… you're…" I heard Kirito say from behind me. I turned around to find a face constantly described to me by Suguha, looking at me in shock. "You're Sugu's blind friend!"

I gave him an enraged glare. "And you're her brother!"

The boy in front of me flinched back, as if expecting me to hit him or something. Of course, it probably didn't help that I looked like I was seriously considering it.

Ugh… I can't believe I was friends with this Kazuto Kirigaya, the laziest gamer on earth!

"Calm down, you two…" I heard a voice say from next to us.

Both Kazuto and I looked over at the person next to us. Upon closer inspection, the person had dark red hair, was at least a head taller than me, and had red stubble on his chin. In other words, I had no idea who he was.

In unison, both Kazuto and I said, "Who the hell are you?"

"It's me, Klein!" the redhead shouted, giving us a confused look. He then took the opportunity to look into the «Hand Mirror» he held, gasping when he did. "Wait… I look like the real me! How—"

Kazuto was the first to recover from our little feud, saying, "The «Nerve Gear» has a scanner that could easily detect our facial structure, but…"

When he trailed off, I picked up what he obviously missed. "The «Nerve Gear» made us calibrate it when we first used it, remember? We had to touch our bodies all over."

Klein donned a look of understanding, which quickly changed to panic. "Yeah, I get all that, but still… why would he do all this?!"

Before either I or Kazuto could respond, the robe continued. "All of you must be wondering why… why would Kayaba Akihiko, creator of «Sword Art Online» and the «Nerve Gear», do all of this? The answer is simple. In fact, I've already achieved my goal.

"To create a world of my own and intervene… as its God."

"Kayaba, you bastard!" Kazuto shouted into the sky.

"This ends the tutorial for the official launch of «Sword Art Online»," the robe said, its image starting to flicker. "Players…

"I wish each and every one of you the best of luck."

With that, the robe turned into red smoke, floating up through the red hexagons that covered the sky. Then, all of the hexagons disappeared, leaving the virtual sunset visible once more.

Silence.

This… is all real, I thought darkly. Kayaba Akihiko, the genius who created the «Nerve Gear» and a complete virtual world. I admired him, so I understand perfectly.

I clenched my fists.

Everything he said… was the truth!

I looked up at Kazuto and Klein. Klein looked shocked, and Kazuto looked like he was experiencing the same firestorm of emotions as I. I looked back down, gritting my teeth.

If I die in the game… I die in real life!

As soon as my thought finished, I heard the sound of a barrier being lifted. In an instant, both Kazuto and I reacted, both whispering one thing.

"As soon as the crowd freaks, we go."

It didn't take long for our requirement to be met. The crowd went into hysterics, creating enough chaos for us to slip away with Klein. And we did. Kazuto grabbed his hand, saying, "Come with us."

He dragged Klein to the alleyways that led to the city's edge, with me following close behind. When we finally reached the alleys, we stopped running, Kazuto taking the initiative to speak.

"Listen. Yamiko and I are heading to the next village right now. Come with us."

Does he seriously expect me to go with him? I thought angrily, still very irked at the fact that I had made friends with my worst real-life enemy.

"If what Kayaba said was true, then to survive, we've gotta train as much as we can. The resources within a VRMMO are limited. In other words, there's only so much money and EXP to go around.

"The fields surrounding the «Town of Beginnings» will be hunted clean in a matter of hours. To be efficient, we need to head for the next village and set up camp there ASAP. Yamiko and I know everything about all the areas from our days in the beta test, so even if we're all at level one, we can get you there safely."

Klein looked down, and I instantly knew what he was thinking about. His friends… he has to help them.

Klein began voicing his concerns. "Guys, I'm sorry… my gaming friends and I spent days in line just to get SAO. I can't abandon them."

He gasped, finally catching on. "They're probably still in the «Plaza», freaking out like everyone else!"

Kazuto looked down, and I already knew exactly what that downward stare of his meant.

If one of his friends died on us, we would be blamed. He would hate us…

"I can't ask anything more of you two. You helped me more than enough," Klein said, giving us a smile. "So get your asses to the next village!"

Both Kazuto and I looked at him with wide eyes. Still, he continued, giving us a thumbs-up and saying, "I used to be a guild master in my last game. I'll be able to get by with the stuff you two taught me!"

"I get it…" I said, looking down. "Well, we'll part here. Send one of us a message if something comes up."

"Will do!"

As Kazuto turned towards the alley, everything about him screamed, 'I'm sorry'. "Well… take care. We'll be seeing you, Klein."

I turned to follow, but was interrupted by Klein shouting, "Kirito! Yamiko!"

We both turned to the redhead, our faces slightly surprised. We could both see that he didn't want things to end on such a sad note.

Just before we turned to walk away, he said, "You know, it's really too bad that you aren't a couple. You'd make a really cute one!"

For once in my life, I didn't get angry at someone saying that. Instead, I laughed. After my laughing subsided, I said, "Goodbye, Klein. I'll see you again."

With that, we parted ways.

After a few seconds of running through the alleyways, I said, "Kazuto, stop!"

"What is it?" he asked me.

"I think…" I started, my chest tightening at what I had to say. "I think we need to split up. Leveling in SAO is more efficient that way."

"What?!" he shouted.

"You know it's true," I said sadly. "That, and I need some time to think. I never would have imagined that you're one of the only people in the real world that I didn't like. So… I'm confused. I don't know what to feel."

He looked down, tears brimming in his eyes. "… I see."

"I promise, you, though…" I started, giving a weak smile. "I'll tell you what I feel after the first boss battle, when we beat it with the new clearing party. Okay?"

"Okay," he said, looking up and smiling back. "I'll see you then, Yamiko."

"Right… I'll see you, Kazuto."

With that, I left in a different direction. I left straight for the third town, right next to the quest spot for the «Anneal Blade».

And I ran. I ran through the alleys, the city gates, the fields, not even stopping when I saw a mid-level «Wolf» ahead of me. It was undoubtedly at least two levels higher than me, but I didn't care in the least.

I've got this!

I drew both of my swords in a flash, already putting them in the position to activate «Blink Cut», a strong dash-type skill.

I can do this!

When my skill finished charging, I released it. I disappeared, reappearing behind the «Wolf» with my blades in an X pattern. I didn't even stop when I heard the mob shatter and leave me a level-up window. No, I just kept on running.

I will survive!

"HAAAAAAA!"

A/N:

Yeah, maybe the "I will survive!" thing is getting a little old, but how else did you expect me to end it?

Anyway, this has been sitting on the backburners for at least a month, so I'm sorry if there's a decrease in quality from some of my newer works.

Okay, for a status update:

The Kendo Club: Playing for Keeps chapter two is about twenty percent done, and I'm still working on it.

FATAL ERROR: SYSTEM REBOOT: Final Reset chapter three is about five percent done, and it's in the same boat as the above story.

Lost chapter two is about fifty percent done, so that will probably be what gets updated next.

Everything else is on the backburner for now. Sorry!

Now, with that out of the way, there's only one last thing to say!

I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series or any of its adaptations!

Until we meet again!